You can tell that Dear Edward is set in the world of Jason Katims from the very beginning. Driven by themes of family and bereavement amid its broad ensemble of people, the series is both slickly produced and wears its heart on its sleeve.
Its central theme of connectivity amongst those grieving due to a plane crash recalls similar iconic shows but is filtered through Katims primary concerns of heartfelt emotion and trying to have you cry every five minutes.
If it s a series you like, or if you re curious about other shows of a similar nature, some even developed by Katims,Ready Steady Cuthas five recommendations for you that are worth checking out.
5 TV Shows Like Dear Edward you must watch
Friday Night Lights (2006-2011)
The combination of creator/executive producer Jason Katims and star Connie Britton amongst one of the great television ensemble casts helped to make Friday Night Lights one of the best series on the air during its run, but also one of the most underrated, constantly facing cancellation despite critical acclaim and having a small but devoted audience.
Although the writing, acting, and direction in this film have a subtle naturalism that is almost the exact opposite of the heightened dramas of Dear Edward, it is also infused with a delicate sweetness and has the power to either break or lift your heart like nothing else ever shown on screen. This film may be the best representation of Katims and his style of storytelling.
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Parenthood (2010 2015)
A second attempt at transferring Ron Howard s 1989 picture to the small screen, Parenthoodwas representative of Katim s ability to put together a well-chosen ensemble cast and to have them play out sequences that could run a gamut of emotions that may go from gently amusing to profoundly heartbreaking.
While smaller in scope compared to his recent series or evenFriday Night Lights, it was also a series that found many of its strengths and best moments in some wonderfully handled character dramas amongst its precisely chosen lead ensemble that included Mae Whitman and Lauren Graham.
Lost (2004 2010)
Any television series that deals with the impact of an airline disaster has the specter of J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof s iconic sci-fi drama hanging over it.
Lost does share Dear Edward’s ability to control a huge ensemble cast and storytelling that is occasionally deceptively complex in its representation of the human connection, while being a very heightened series and being situated on a desert island.
Manifest (2018 Present)
LikeLost,Manifestis more of a sci-fi series. Still, similar toDear Edward, it deals with the ramifications of an airline disaster through the prism of central characters trying to pick up the pieces after the event.
The distinction in this case is that it involves characters who vanished mid-flight and then appeared again years later in a rather inventive sci-fi plot. Occasionally daft, it s also very engaging. LikeLostand Dear Edward, it finds a lot to mine from not only the intricacies of its storytelling and themes of connectivity but also in the performances of its leads.
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This Is Us (2016 2022)
Perhaps the biggest example in recent years of a star-led weepy on the small screen, while Katims was not involved inThis is Us, it feels like something within his wheelhouse of portraying big emotional beats to audience-pleasing effect amongst a brilliant ensemble cast and finding a way to have it endure as a long-running television series.
One of the biggest series to air in the US in recent years; some might scoff at it for being sentimental and manipulative, but there s no denying that it s very effective in what it does, and its twist reveal in the very first episode was a genuine surprise.
Do you have any suggestions for similar TV shows to Dear Edward? Tell us in the comments section below.